Bulletproof mash schedule

[-Bezza-]

My previous AG brews have been BIAB where I haven't had a great deal of control over mash temperature. I've tended to just stick at a single temperature for the full 60 mins which has been ok for what it is.

Now that I have a Grainfather with its ability to automatically take care of step-mashing, it's got me thinking about whether people have a go-to standard mash schedule or whether people vary each time they brew?

Interested if these is a standard set of base temps/timings to start with.

 

[rank_frank]

I tend to use to use 65C for 60 minutes and 75C for 10 minutes.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
I use a hochkurz stepped mash.

 

[Ghillie]

I typically mash between 65C and 68C; the former for a thin bodied mouthfeel and the latter for a full bodied one. Mash out at 76C. I dont believe the mash out step is all that relevant in a single vessel system (I use a Robobrew which is the same in concept to a GF) - but as I'm going to the boil anyway, there's no reason not to leave the grains in and hold at 76C for 10 minutes before removing to sparge whilst ramping to the boil.

In January I'm planning a low carbohydrate brew as I'm a T1 diabetic. It's something totally new to me and will be the first time I properly step mash. The premise behind it is a low OG combined with a long stepped mash schedule that targets the smaller carbohydrate chains (Beta Amylase) between 55C and 66C. This should result in a wort with almost entirely fermentable sugars. The end result being a dry, fully fermented out (~0.990 - 1.000) beer that has a lower CHO content than you'd typically see in most brews.

 

[HoppyTommy]

I typically mash between 65C and 68C; the former for a thin bodied mouthfeel and the latter for a full bodied one. Mash out at 76C. I dont believe the mash out step is all that relevant in a single vessel system (I use a Robobrew which is the same in concept to a GF) - but as I'm going to the boil anyway, there's no reason not to leave the grains in and hold at 76C for 10 minutes before ramping to the boil.

In January I'm planning a low carbohydrate brew as I'm a T1 diabetic. It's something totally new to me and will be the first time I properly step mash. The premise behind it is a low OG combined with a long stepped mash schedule that targets the smaller carbohydrate chains (Beta Amylase) between 55C and 66C. This should result in a wort with almost entirely fermentable sugars. The end result being a dry, fully fermented out (~0.990 - 1.000) beer that has a lower CHO content than you'd typically see in most brews.

View attachment 16540

Keep us updated how the low carbohydrate beer goes. I might have a crack at one myself. I'm currently trying a low carb diet to lose a bit of weight and it is working well.
Michael Mosley describes beer as "liquid toast"!!!!

 

[Ghillie]

Keep us updated how the low carbohydrate beer goes. I might have a crack at one myself. I'm currently trying a low carb diet to lose a bit of weight and it is working well.
Michael Mosley describes beer as "liquid toast"!!!!

I certainly will when I get round to it bud. Looks like it'll be a 2-3 hour mash!

Yeah it really is liquid toast. My go to IPA recipe works out at an estimated 321kcals and 27.65g CHO per pint! The same CHO content as 1.5 slices of white bread and the same calories as 1.5 mars bars!

Calories aren't a huge concern to me, but CHO content is because it does make blood glucose management quite challenging. Especially when you think that a little over 6 pints is half a loaf (10 slices) of white bread!

 

[-Bezza-]

Hi!
I use a hochkurz stepped mash.

This sounds like a sensible starting point on which to start my mash schedule and not too complex!

Interested to hear what others do too, so keep responses coming...

 

[MyQul]

Most of my beers are about 1.037 OG so I normally mash for 30-40 mins at 70C to get as much body into the beer as I can

 

[Slid]

I tend to use to use 65C for 60 minutes and 75C for 10 minutes.

Same for me, almost every time. "Cookie Cutter" mash profile, as David Heath calls it.

 

[-Bezza-]

I'm ignoring @Ghillie commenting on how bad for you beer is. Isn't that sort of talk against forum rules?

 

[MyQul]

I'm ignoring @Ghillie commenting on how bad for you beer is. Isn't that sort of talk against forum rules?

I guess we can all shout 'Burn the witch!' at him and prod him with pitchforks but I dont think its agains forum rules *


(*tbh I think his main concern is the carbohydrates, because he's diabetic)

 

[-Bezza-]

I guess we can all shout 'Burn the witch!' at him and prod him with pitchforks but I dont think its agains forum rules *


(*tbh I think his main concern is the carbohydrates, because he's diabetic)

Quite. I actually quite like this forum for the fact you can talk about low-carb beers and low alcohol beers and gluten free beers without being lynched.

 

[Bigcol49]

Quite. I actually quite like this forum for the fact you can talk about low-carb beers and low alcohol beers and gluten free beers without being lynched.

That's what you think!

 

[Ghillie]

(*tbh I think his main concern is the carbohydrates, because he's diabetic)

Exactly that :)

I'll never stray from the way I normally make beer, but it would be nice to make some "palatable" low carb beer sometime that doesn't make my blood sugar shoot up.

 

[Zephyr259]

I used to do a 1 hour rest at 63 - 70c depending on style and fermentability I was looking for then a mash out at 75c. I've recently tried a couple of step mashes, mashed in a high OG beer at 40c then ramped up to the usual rest as mashing in low is meant to help hydrate the malt and lets the enzymes work more efficiently, I did get a decent efficiency but I did a few other things to help. Tried two 30 min rests at 65c and 72c for my bock, and it fermented fine and attenuated as if it was mashed at 67-68c. Did a full blown multi-step mash for my Helles (50, 63, 72, 75) earlier in the year and recently my dunkelweizen (37, 50, 63, 68, 72, 75), didn't notice much on the lager but the 50% wheat mash gave me no issues in mash or sparge and I got an extra 5% efficiency from it too, it's fermented out nicely to 74% attenuation.

There's a bunch of mysticism around step mashing saying it gives better body and head retention due to how it affects proteins but then current literature says that modern malts are generally so well modified you don't need anything below a saccharification rest. I've been playing with it as it's easy to do in a Grainfather.

 

[MyQul]

There's a bunch of mysticism around step mashing saying it gives better body and head retention due to how it affects proteins but then current literature says that modern malts are generally so well modified you don't need anything below a saccharification rest. I've been playing with it as it's easy to do in a Grainfather.

I think there's also a quite a bit of romantacism around step mashing too. Going back to the 'old ways' and that. The only point of doing it is to convert more fully so if 'in days of yore' they had the more fully modified malts that we have now, theirs noway they'd be doing it as it takes longer and is more of a faff unless you've got a automated mash system like a grainfather or braumeister

 

[-Bezza-]

Next brew on the list is a Hefe weiss (which is just the Malt Miller kit).

2kg wheat malt, 1.8kg Maris Otter and 130g of Munich. Planning on mashing as follows:

62c for 35 mins (alpha)
71c for 35 mins (beta)
77c for 15 mins (mash out)

To be honest, that seems a sensible way to mash all my malts now, unless I'm after something in particular - for now, just getting a reasonably efficient mash and beer at the end of the day is fine by me.

Then have some MJ Bavarian Wheat yeast and we're good. As an aside, what temp should I ferment at?

 

[Zephyr259]

My full weizen mash was as follows:

37c - Mash-in (set to 0 min but GF does 1 min rest anyway)
50c - 20 min
63c - 35 min
68c - 5 min
72c - 20 min
75c - 10 min

This gave me a gloriously clear wort during the 63c step, my Helles also did this, my SI mashes never really clear up to the degree you see people posting pics of online. First time with a high wheat grist but I was worried about it sticking so went for the good protein rest, oh I also added half a bag of oat husks (200 - 300 g) to the mash.

This schedule was from the Weyermann recipe page for Amber Wheat beer which is what I was making (think I subbed Vienna in for the pilsner as I didn't have any) and I used all weyermann malts.

 

[-Bezza-]

My full weizen mash was as follows:

37c - Mash-in (set to 0 min but GF does 1 min rest anyway)
50c - 20 min
63c - 35 min
68c - 5 min
72c - 20 min
75c - 10 min

This gave me a gloriously clear wort during the 63c step, my Helles also did this, my SI mashes never really clear up to the degree you see people posting pics of online. First time with a high wheat grist but I was worried about it sticking so went for the good protein rest, oh I also added half a bag of oat husks (200 - 300 g) to the mash.

This schedule was from the Weyermann recipe page for Amber Wheat beer which is what I was making (think I subbed Vienna in for the pilsner as I didn't have any) and I used all weyermann malts.

Maybe I'll adopt that schedule for mine - I hadn't really thought about what grains were going in and was more just excited about being able to use the GF for the first time. Given the GF controller will just deal with the temp increases for me, it's no great effort to build in extra steps. And a full 90 min mash might be better timing wise, as I'm sure I'll have a load of other things to be doing alongside the brewing.

 

[Zephyr259]

Oh! First time using the GF? Then the step mash and rice hulls / oat husks will be a good plan, some of my all barley grists have a habit of slow sparging so I was expecting the wheat beer to be a nightmare so took all the precautions. Mashed so well it barely went down the overflow and sparged at a good rate.

Best of luck.